Ruto secures Ksh9.5 Billion emergency loan from AfDB
Ruto secures a Ksh9.5 Billion loan from AfDB for the Kenya Emergency Food Production Facility
Ruto secures a Ksh9.5 Billion loan from AfDB for the Kenya Emergency Food Production Facility.
On May 3, the African Development Bank and the administration of President William Ruto signed a loan agreement worth Ksh9.5 billion (about Euro 63 million).
The Kenya Emergency Food Production Facility (AEFPF-K) financing deal was signed in order to boost agricultural production and enhance food security in Kenya.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u and Nnenna Nwabufo, Director General for Regional Development and Business Delivery of East Africa at the African Development Bank, signed the loan agreement in Nairobi on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
The regional bank said that the lending facility was meant to assist President Ruto’s administration in boosting agricultural output.
The facility from the development partner was also secured to help the Kenya Kwanza regime fast-track the adoption of the e-voucher system to distribute seeds.
“We plan to increase production by 1.5 million metric tonnes of cereals and oilseeds between 2023-2025, distribute 65,000 MT of fertilizers and 17,000 MT of seeds, and institutionalize the e-voucher system,” Nnenna stated.
“Our goal is to mitigate the impacts of drought and the Russia-Ukraine war and support farmers and the government with the necessary resources. Let’s work together to achieve a more resilient and food-secure future for Kenya,” she added.
The National Treasury, on the other hand, insisted that the financing was critical in bolstering agriculture which is one of President Ruto’s development agendas.
Treasury added that the loan programme was critical in supporting the government to fulfill the fertiliser subsidy scheme.
“The loan agreement will support fertiliser imports by local firms to bolster the agricultural sector for increased food production,” the Treasury insisted.
Beneficiaries of the credit facility would include small-scale farmers who will receive certified seeds and fertilisers at affordable rates along with extension services.
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Other secondary beneficiaries would include various stakeholders along the production value chain for the selected crops, wheat, maize, rice, and soybean.
Aggregators, fertiliser and seed companies, financial institutions, agro-processors, and producer associations would also benefit from the credit facility secured by Ruto.
The loan acquisition came after MPs rejected a proposal by Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung’u to alter the debt ceiling and replace the numerical valuation with the Gross Domestic Product.
During a committee hearing, CS Njuguna was quizzed over the current debt, with MPs arguing that the Kenya Kwanza administration was struggling to pay salaries on time.
“We cannot allow you to continue to pile more debt in a situation where you can not pay salaries in time. You are being unfair,” Samuel Atandi (Alego Usonga) stated.
However, CS Njuguna vowed to find a better explanation to convince the lawmakers to adopt the new strategy for addressing the country’s debt situation.
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